Renaissance
by Pipe Fox
Summary: The ascent from youth into adulthood has left the cul-de-sac changed. And now with the arrival of a new girl, Edd finds himself twisting into her foreign world. But the new girl is not as new as she seems, and Edd is not as observant as he thought.


Renaissance

How and when the kids of the cul-de-sac grew up, no one knew exactly. But as Edward stepped back from the edge of the woods, from the wrong side of the track, the thought dawned sweetly on him as the sun set beneath the horizon.

He had, like always, been living in his personal bubble. It was the summer of his senior year to be, something he had prepared himself for countless times since the age of junior high. But when the time finally came, he realized he had nothing left to do. So he turned to the introspective, learning stage he had neglected for six years. He spent his time idling around the cul-de-sac, observing the nuances of human nature.

The day of or before his enlightenment, he had been sitting in the tree near Rolf's farm, watching with mild amusement as Ed leaned precariously over the henhouse fence.

"Man, I love chickens." He murmured contently, grasping in vain at the poultry shuffling across the yard. Eddy slouched near the basin of the tree, Edd involuntarily wincing at his posture. Still narcissistic at heart, he ran a plastic comb through his hair in a practiced fashion resembling either Crybaby or the Fonz.

"This bites!" He whined chronically, "We haven't pulled a scam in years."

"Well Eddy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," and he really did, at times, "but we've pulled every scam, trick, scheme, prank and plot known to mankind since the days of Aristotle, and quite possibly beyond."

From below, he heard a muffled curse of assent. They had, literally, tried everything –from rubber chickens to ice sculptures, cultural re-creations to infinitely varied minor theme parks, tiger traps, time traveling, interactive libraries and beyond. Eddy twisted his shirt irritably, finally replacing the comb to his back pocket.

"This is it." He grumbled, "We've hit rock bottom. There's nothing to pull in the entire cul-de-sac."

"Looking for something to do, Ed boys?" Rolf, dressed in a wife beater and jeans, swiftly defended his chickens with a flyswatter. He was gone at college for most of the year, but returned to tend his farm in the summer, "You could polish the multiple chins of my great-grandmother."

"Thanks but no thanks, Rolf." Eddy stood on his own, jingling the loose change in his pocket. Double-D scrambled artlessly down the tree, but Ed still continued to reach for the chickens. Rolf swatted at him from the corner of his eye.

"Not interested, eh, Ed boys?" He grinned his toothy grin, pushing his straw hat up from his eyes. "And what of the new girl, eh heh?"

"New girl?" Eddy asked keenly, fingering for his comb once again. Rolf gave a satisfactory nod.

"Yes. She is overripe in the ways of the corn, you see. Or, as you Americans might say, she is quite the shellfish who skims my father's potato."

He laughed in his clever way and moved on, finally discouraging Ed with a satisfying smack from his swatter. Ed slouched back with a small whine, falling behind Edd and Eddy as they made their way from Rolf's farm to the street, where Nazz could be seen talking to Kevin.

Not three weeks after Kevin got his license, he came to Double-D in the cover of night, asking for help with motorcycle repair. The gleaming job that Kevin leaned on was Edd's pride and joy –secretly, of course –and whenever Kevin teased the boys, he spared him jest, if only slightly.

Nazz and Kevin had the kind of on-again-off-again relationship that no one could keep up with. He glanced over his shoulder at Nazz's averted attention, giving the sarcastic half-smile he'd had since childhood.

"Well if it isn't my favorite dorks." He muttered. Tension between them had lessened as they'd gotten older –they weren't the best of friends, but they weren't going out of their way to torture each other. Eddy winked at Nazz has he walked by –Edd noticed the small reddening in Kevin's face.

"So," Eddy started casually, "what have you heard about the new girl?"

"New girl?" Nazz inquired.

"Oh, the new girl." There was an edge to Kevin's voice, and a sort of nodding affirmation that Rolf had also shared. Nazz gave him a severe glance, haughty and jealous at the same time.

"How do _you_ know the new girl?"

"Nazz." Kevin sounded exasperated, "Don't start-"

"Forget it." She acknowledged the Eds as she stamped off to her own house.

"Ah, Nazz, come on." He sighed dully, shifting on the upholstery of his motorcycle. He didn't seem terribly upset, but now whispered in low tones,

"The new girl is hot."

Kevin smiled again and pulled his helmet over his head with a small wink, before gunning the engine and steering towards Nazz, coaxing her to ride with him. Eddy momentarily forgot his comb, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"If the new girl is this hot, how come she hasn't found _me _yet?"

"I would expect that type of comment from you, Eddy." Double-D quipped, crossing his arms dully, "but if she's staying on the cul-de-sac, we're bound to run across her sooner or later."

"You fellas talkin' about the new girl?" Jimmy's teeth looked bigger without his retainer, but he'd improved nonetheless. His neatly stylized hair went effortlessly with his impeccably fitted sweater, Edd did not hesitate to notice. But while he was quietly impressed, Ed gave Jimmy a cold, suspicious stare.

"And just where do you think you're going, young man?" Jimmy cowered somewhat, but only somewhat.

"To…to a club with Sarah, if you must know." He straightened his sweater, and delicately fingered along the edges of his bouquet, "I was just about to pick her up."

Ed grumbled darkly as Eddy took the scene.

"What do you know about the new girl, Jimmy ol' boy?"

"Only that she's got nothing on my Sarah." He said disdainfully, "She's the riffraff type. Much too much of a brute for me, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me." Giving Ed one last wary glance, he made his quick way down the street. The tallest of the three loomed after him.

"This stinks!" Eddy exclaimed sourly, then muttered, "The only thing to make it worse is for Jonny 2 x 4 to pop up with Plank."

There was a quiet pause, as though they were actually waiting for it. But Jonny did not appear. In fact, Jonny had not appeared for some time now. But Double-D had no time to think about this before Eddy stalked off in the opposite direction, followed quickly by Ed, and soon after himself.

They cut through the junkyard to the spot where the Hippy Van used to rest –there now lay an empty space from whence they sold it last summer. They traveled almost wordlessly, through the now empty streets of the cul-de-sac, into the Construction Yard, where men now worked under the Julian sun.

"Big Ed!" A man in a construction hat waved his burly arm, "You're late! Get to work!"  
"Oh yeah!" Ed gave a jaunty wave, and had almost turned when Eddy protested, "Come on, Ed! You've worked everyday this week! Just blow off it today!"

Ed looked helplessly between his friend and the construction workers, and gave a small, pathetic shrug.

"Sorry, Eddy. No can do. I have to save up, 'cause Mom said I would have to work my way through art college." He waved again.

"See you later, alligators!" Then he jogged towards the worker's equipment. Eddy kicked the dirt.

"Fine, just blow us off then!"

"I admire his responsibility." Said Double-D warmly. The other scoffed.

"Geez, you guys have no sense of fun. And I suppose you'll want to leave too, huh? Forget it…I'm going into town."

With his back turned, he gave a half-hearted wave and shrank into the playground distance. And then Edd was alone. He left the Construction Site by the opposite lane, traveling along the creek like a tired sailor –and somehow he was –taking the quiet path until the high rise of trees shaded the summer's eyes. Double-D stared up at them, absorbing the sound of cicadas.

Then, in the soft silence, he heard footsteps.

He turned before he could think not to, and there she was. The new girl, but so perplexingly familiar it seemed strange to call her so. She was not the image Double-D had formulated, pieced from various puzzles of awkward odds to harmonious ends. In fact, the idea had not entered his head –this strange and sultry creature who stared at him, sharing his wordlessness. Dark-haired, long-lashed, so thin as hardly to cast a shadow, she stood in the vagueness of the forest as Calypso might have on the rescue of Odysseus. Double-D loved her both immediately and all his life, if only for that moment. It was as though he had jumped and was still descending.

She opened her mouth wide and said, but in a quiet voice,

"You've gotten taller."

"I-I'm sorry. Have we met?"

She walked hesitantly forward, confidence coming with closeness. Then, as she fringed on his personal space, she pulled his hat gingerly over his eyes.

"Excuse me…"

"And you've gotten your teeth fixed." Edd involuntarily inhaled. She was a subtle mix of cheap flowers and motor oil with a touch of lemon. He pushed his hat from his eyes.

"…Marie?"

"Surprise." She said.

"Surprise." He repeated. That was all he could say.

Disclaimer. I don't own Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy in any way, shape or form.

Hum. So yeah. I'll finish it soon. It's just been humming around my computer and I decided to post it. Sorry. Artemis


End file.
